Amazon to expand Dash button program with dozens of new brands, report claims

Amazon this week will reportedly announce that it is doubling down on its Dash button initiative, the branded widgets that allow for one-push ordering of all sorts of household goods offered by the e-commerce giant.

According to documents recently reviewed by The Wall Street Journal, Amazon will announce the addition of dozens of new brands to the Dash button program. Whether or not it’ll be a worthwhile investment, however, remains to be seen.

Amazon introduced its Dash buttons on March 31, 2015. Given the date, many assumed it was little more than an early April Fool’s gag. For the uninitiated, Dash buttons are small, USB flash drive-sized gadgets with a logo and a physical button. Put one in the laundry room, for example, and when you’re running low on detergent, simply press the button to queue up an order of detergent from Amazon.

Market research firm Slice Intelligence suggests that fewer than half of those that have purchased a $4.99 Dash button since its debut have used it to place an actual order. Customers that do use Dash buttons tend to place an order about once every two months, the firm found.

So why then, would Amazon continue to bring brands on board and why would said brands participate?

The Journal notes that several consumer-product executives have signed up in order to ensure their brands retain a close relationship with Amazon. And as Ken McFarland, director of e-commerce for Seventh Generation Inc., notes, Amazon tries so many things that partners wouldn’t want to miss out on the ones that do work.